Monday, November 2, 2015

Yes, my friends, if you haven't started already, it is time to start thinking about holiday gifts and the new year! And that means tea towel calendars are all the rage on Spoonflower. The tea towel calendar design contest is my favorite of the year, mostly because I get to return to my graphic design roots. Here is my entry this year, inspired by board games. Start at January, advance through each month, and the first one to make it through December wins! You can vote for all your favorite designs here.

Friday, October 30, 2015

It took me six months of planning and procrastinating, but I finally finished my Instagram cheater quilt SpoonChallenge project! The challenge, created by Becka Rahn, was to design a cheater quilt using photos from my Instagram feed that could be printed onto a yard of fabric.

I decided to use photos from our family trips to Hawaii, and arrange them into an ombre-colored, pixelated banana leaf design. For the backing, I used my Umi Numbers Hawaiian Cheater Quilt fabric. Both were printed on Kona Cotton from Spoonflower, and then for the binding, I found a matching green solid Kona at the fabric store.

This was my first attempt at quilting! While stitching around the edges of each photo was a bit tedious (lots of stopping and starting and turning and backstitching), I loved doing the concentric stitches around the photos to the edge (about every 3/4"). I am really happy with the way the straight lines contrast with the organic lines of the quilt backing. I sort of cheated on the binding, top-stitching with the machine instead of slip stitching by hand (I have no patience), but I think it turned out great!

Friday, July 24, 2015

This week's Spoonflower contest theme is 'National Parks'. I have always wanted to do a print using bottlecaps, so I took this opportunity to make up a whole bunch of 'fantasy' soda pop brands and flavors--59 to be exact! One for each of the national parks in the U.S. Here is how the design looks on a fat quarter of cotton fabric (21" x 18").

And here are closeups of the caps. I had a great time researching each park to come up with appropriate soda names and flavors, and enjoyed going back to my graphic design roots! If you like the design, your vote would make me 'bubbly'!

Thursday, December 11, 2014

It's Christmas Craft Roundup time again! All year long I gather old Christmas editions of magazines in order to showcase them around the holidays. It never ceases to amaze me how everything old is new again. This year, instead of featuring the ridiculous crafts that usually come to mind when one thinks of 1970s church bazaars (of which there were plenty in the pages of these annuals), the focus is on those ideas that actually look current. And there are many! What's your favorite?

Good Housekeeping Needlecraft (Fall-Winter 1972-73)

While I'm not a fan of the crocheted sweater, the pattern and color combos of appliquéd flowers on these "Nosegay Sweaters" is nice.

The Hamburger Hassock uses 'suede-look' vinyl for the buns, corduroy for the meat patty, and shiny vinyl for the lettuce, tomato, and ketchup.

Fun patchwork totebag. Love the criss-cross quilting.

Alphabet Comforter and Alphabet Pillows. Nuff said.

Family Circle Christmas Helps (1975)

Cheery felt Fruit & Doves Wreath designed by Jane Slovachek.

Stuffed calico letters to hang on your door for a festive greeting, designed by Joyce Denebrink.